EBE Chapter 293 Social Welfare System
Chapter 293 Social Welfare System
Officials from the Qin and Han dynasties in another timeline were so engrossed in copying down all the contents of the imperial examination that they were practically flying with their hands.
Luckily, I had studied papermaking beforehand; otherwise, if I were still fiddling with bamboo slips (ancient paper) like before, I would look like a complete idiot!
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The live broadcast continues.
Lin Ke sighed. She felt it was a real pity. The Southern Song Dynasty wasn't without a chance to fight back, but she couldn't understand how that scoundrel Wanyan Gou had survived for so long!
"Of course, besides reforming the education system, Cai Jing also worked on other aspects, such as the social welfare system."
“Let’s take a few examples. Cai Jing opened Anjifang clinics all over the country to provide medical care for the poor.”
"Moreover, this organization has certain tasks and uses incentives such as bonuses. If it can help about a thousand people a year and reduce the number of deaths, then it will receive a bonus every year."
"There are also nursing homes that provide accommodation for orphaned children and the elderly. These are actually similar to welfare homes in later times. In any case, the intention behind setting out at this time was good."
"There was also a public cemetery for the poor—Louzeyuan. Historical records indicate that there were requirements for excavation and burial at Louzeyuan, probably to avoid exposing the remains."
"According to the 'Treatise on Food and Commodities' in the History of Song, similar institutions include Futianyuan, Anlefang, and Anyangyuan, which were mostly for elderly people living alone, vagrants, beggars, and disabled people."
"These welfare institutions also provide humane assistance. For example, they provide snow relief money on snowy days and relief money and rice during long periods of rain or sunshine, which are [an annual routine]. Sometimes they also provide wine and meat."
A scholar-official from the Han Dynasty: This institution is quite good.
Zhu Baba of the Ming Dynasty: Indeed, for the poor people.
Emperor Zhao Kuangyin of the Song Dynasty: That's alright!
……
“These institutions targeting the poor actually existed as early as the Northern Song Dynasty. In the early Northern Song Dynasty, such institutions only appeared in the capital, but during the reign of Emperor Zhezong, they were further expanded to the local areas.”
"During the reign of Emperor Huizong, the practice of providing care for the elderly was further promoted, which led to the establishment of care homes for the elderly. This enabled Cai Jing to promote the care homes for the elderly throughout the country."
"However, these nursing homes have certain standards. They not only need to prepare cooks, handymen, nannies, wet nurses, etc., but also need to provide bedding, quilts, and cooking utensils."
"In addition to the adoptive parents' food rations, daily expenses, and money for charcoal in winter, the welfare is quite good overall."
"As for Anjifang, it benefited from the vigorous promotion by Cai Jing and Emperor Huizong of Song, but due to the fall of the Northern Song Dynasty, it was later shelved due to war. It was not until the establishment of the Southern Song Dynasty that a similar institution appeared."
"The last one, Louzeyuan, is mainly for funeral welfare. If someone cannot be buried for certain reasons, the government will arrange for their burial."
"This actually existed during the reign of Emperor Renzong, but it was limited to the suburbs and could not be promoted to the whole country."
“Established by Cai Jing in the third year of Chongning, this was the true institutionalization of the funeral assistance welfare. There were also standards for burying the remains, which required them to be buried three feet deep.”
According to the "Collected Drafts of the Song Dynasty Administrative Regulations", the burial site for a corpse must be eight feet deep, with two square bricks placed on it, and the place of origin, name, and other markings written on the bricks.
"Then, the records were numbered according to the Thousand Character Classic. The staff in the archives had to manage the records well to facilitate verification."
An official from the Ming Dynasty said: To be fair, although Cai Jing was a great traitor, he did a pretty good job in this area!
A spoiled young master from the Tang Dynasty: Indeed, he is quite perfect in every aspect!
A minor official in the Qin Dynasty: This routine maintenance must cost a lot of money!
A bystander from the Ming Dynasty commented: "It's a pity, it will be abandoned in just a few years!"
……
The people from other timelines were indeed quite surprised to hear this, as they thought that a great villain would always do inhuman things!
But unexpectedly, Cai Jing did something good for the people!
Could this organization please promote itself a bit more?
……
“Whether it was the Anjiyuan, the Juyangyuan, or the Louzeyuan, they were all important social welfare and medical institutions during this period, but the cost of daily maintenance could only be afforded by those with money.”
"However, from the perspective of later generations, these three systems were indeed very well-developed at the time, especially in the Northern Song Dynasty a thousand years ago, when the reforms truly took care of the poor people."
A farming expert from the Ming Dynasty: This is actually pretty good!
A spoiled young man from the Tang Dynasty: Sigh, maintaining all this must cost a lot of money, right? That's all the money the Song Dynasty had!
An official from the Sui Dynasty: Isn't the reform just about making money?!
A bystander from the Ming Dynasty: It sounded pretty good, so how did he end up being a treacherous minister?!
……
"However, Cai Jing still needs to work hard to make money. After all, his boss is the most extravagant and playful emperor in the Northern Song Dynasty, and he has a large number of officials to rely on."
"Other areas also require money, such as waging war against the Western Xia. Isn't war all about money?"
"Cai Jing still inherited Wang Anshi's idea: the people will not be taxed more, but the country will be rich. Sang Hongyang also used this phrase in the past, all for the sake of the pigs launching a large-scale attack on the Xiongnu."
"Wang Anshi, or the New Party, believed that without ostensibly increasing taxes on the people, the country's coffers could be bulging, entirely thanks to the development of productive forces. Hence, there were laws such as the Green Sprouts Act and the Market Exchange Act."
"Therefore, Cai Jing put forward a new concept based on this. According to the biography of Cai Jing in the History of Song, Cai Jing advocated the concept of abundance, prosperity, joy and greatness."
"These four characters together mean that the world is at peace, and the people are prosperous and thriving."
"But in reality, he was still trying to make money, so Cai Jing first reformed tea and salt, which were the most profitable industries. Wang Anshi had previously implemented tea and salt monopolies."
"Here I'd like to briefly explain tea and salt. First of all, the tea culture of the Song Dynasty. As a dynasty famous for its economy and culture, the Song Dynasty's clothing, food, housing and transportation developed very quickly compared to the previous dynasty."
"For example, takeout in the Song Dynasty originated in the Eastern Han Dynasty, or it already existed in the Eastern Han Dynasty. There is a record of takeout in the biography of Wang Mang."
Big Han Liu Zhuzhu: ...You really know how to enjoy yourself!